IBA South: Louisiana has more opioid prescriptions than residents, pushing insurance costs higher

Opioid abuse leads to addiction, overdose and higher workers’ compensation rates as injured employees stay away off the job longer

Insurance News

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High workers’ compensation rates in Louisiana may be exacerbated by ongoing opioid abuse, as new information suggests that state is one of eight that has more opioid prescriptions than it does residents.

According to new information published by Workers’ Compensation Research Institute and IT company IMS Health, Louisiana has the sixth highest prescription-per-capita rate at 1.03 pain-killer prescriptions written per resident in 2015.

“This is certainly not a list Louisiana wants to top,” said Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon. “In addition to the costs to individuals and families that these drug abuses and opioid dependencies cause, there is also a cost to the insurance system as a whole. Louisiana workers have a higher frequency of opioid use when injured than most other states. This is a dangerous trend that has reached crisis proportions.”

Workers’ compensation rates do spike alongside opioid use and abuse. In a survey conducted by Health Strategy Associates, 33% of front-line case managers said opioid use led to an increase in costs and claims. Even more worrying, 30% of employers said they were unable to identify opioid-related claims that would benefit from interventions and less than 24% say they are working with insurance professionals to address opioid issues.

Another 30% say they believe managing opioids is “not a priority.”

Dwight Robertson, medical director for small business insurer EMPLOYERS, said insurance professionals should play an important role in providing education to companies and their workers on the negative impacts of opioids.

“When involved parties identify and address such potential issues early, outcomes can be improved,” Robertson said.

The report comes on the heels of an August analysis from Fair Health that found the number of private insurance claims related to opioid dependence soared by more than 2,300% from 2007 to 2014.

Private insurance claims related to opioid abuse also rose by 317%.

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